


Santa Claws

by Fire_Bear



Series: Walking in a Winter Wonderland [10]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (sort of), Christmas, Evil Santa Claus, F/M, I Googled cat puns for this, Puns & Word Play, Santa Claus - Freeform, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 17:42:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13105281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Chat Noir and Ladybug are fighting yet another akuma! This time, the akumatised person is Père Noel - now Père Fouettard is on the loose!





	Santa Claws

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zeplerfer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeplerfer/gifts).



> NB: Like I’ve said in my previous story in this series, I’ve not seen the Christmas episode so I hope to heck this isn’t what happens in it.

Chat Noir and Ladybug landed several feet away from the Père Noel's Grotto that was currently under attack by an akuma. They stared in shock at what appeared to be a man dressed as Père Noel except all in black, with a scraggly black beard and glowering visage. He had a long martinet in one hand and a sack slung over his shoulder, held in place by his other hand. As they watched, he yelled incomprehensibly and swung the vicious whip at a little boy. Without any hesitation, Ladybug flung out her yo-yo, let it twist around the boy's ankle and dragged him out of the way – just before the whip cracked against his face.

The man turned to them, glaring ferociously.

Shuddering, Chat Noir turned to Ladybug. "Looks like someone's being naughty," he quipped.

Ladybug rolled her pretty eyes. “Not now, Chat. Paris is in danger.”

“And the whole of France, by the look of things,” commented Chat Noir. “Isn’t that Père Fouettard, the guy who follows Père Noel around to punish bad children?”

“That's what it looks like.”

Before they could continue their conversation, Père Fouettard raised his whip high above his head. Neither of them moved, though they shifted their stance slightly so they could get out of the way at a moment’s notice. It wasn't until the akuma brought the whip sharply downwards that they realised how bad the situation was. Instead of missing them at their distance, the whip extended as it was swung until the ropes were above them. Chat Noir leapt aside and landed on all fours not too far away.

"Naughty children deserve to be punished!" Père Fouettard roared. Without warning, he leapt into the air. Instead of landing a few feet from the stage, he soared over the heads of the children, aiming for Chat Noir. Smirking, Chat Noir leapt backwards and out of range, whipping his staff out at the same time. He lifted it and caught the flailing tails of Père Fouettard's whip. They wound around the staff and Chat Noir took the opportunity to tug at it, hoping to draw the akuma down in order for Ladybug to use her Lucky Charm. However, he clearly wasn't as strong as the akuma and it quickly turned into a tug-of-war. It didn't take long for Chat Noir to start sliding towards Père Fouettard, despite digging his heels into the ground.

"Chat!" exclaimed Ladybug. Her yo-yo came from behind him and wrapped around Chat Noir's waist. His sliding stopped and he stumbled backwards as he was yanked towards her. He glanced over his shoulder to see that she'd looped her yo-yo's string around a lamppost and was pulling at it with her back to him; from what he could see of her face in profile, her expression was set in one of determination.

Slowly but surely, they began to pull the akuma towards them. Chat Noir grinned at the akuma and watched with mild amusement as Père Fouettard started to look worried. He caught Chat Noir's eye, growled and let go of the whip. Unable to react in time, Chat Noir flew back, dropping his staff and releasing the trapped tails. He kept going until he hit the lamppost with an 'oof!' At the same time, he heard a gasp and glanced over to find that Ladybug had fallen over as well. Chat Noir, thankfully, landed on his feet. He rushed to snatch up his staff before Père Fouettard could react.

But he needn't have bothered: Père Fouettard grabbed his whip and shot high up into the sky. As he went, Chat Noir was sure he heard the akuma shout, "All whipper-snappers will be punished!" Chat Noir tried to keep the akuma in sight but the mystical punisher was faster than he'd thought; Père Fouettard shot through the air and disappeared.

"He sure left in a hurry," Chat Noir said to Ladybug as she got to her feet. "He was rather snappy about it, don't you think."

Ladybug didn't seem to notice, too busy puzzling the situation out. "Where has he gone?" she asked. "There are lots of children gathered here so why would he go?"

Chat Noir looked around at the ruined grotto. Several children were crying. Parents cradled wide-eyed boys and girls to their chests. Those who had been dressed as elves looked dishevelled and were hiding behind the sleigh that had been brought in for Père Noel to sit on. Presents had been bowled over in the akuma's assault, some of the wrappings peeled away to show the cheap toys beneath.

"Maybe there are other misbehaving children he needs to terrorise?" Chat Noir suggested.

"Hm. I think I know where he's gone."

"Really? Where?"

The heroine didn't get a chance to answer for a small voice said, "Ladybug?"

Surprised, they looked down to find a little girl with bobbed, black hair and big brown eyes staring up at them. Those eyes were filled with tears and she looked in dire need of a hug. Ladybug was quick to kneel down to deliver one; Chat Noir's heart swelled. "Oh, honey, what's wrong?"

"Does this mean Père Noel won't come?" the little girl asked in a wobbly voice.

Chat Noir's heart clenched and quickly sank to his stomach. He watched Ladybug stand up; she was frowning, evidently thinking. Eventually, she turned to Chat Noir, her head tilted to the side. "Hm," she said."

"What?" asked Chat Noir.

All of a sudden, Ladybug caught hold of Chat Noir's arm and pulled him away from the girl. "We can't destroy all of the children's dreams. We need to find a Père Noel!"

"Where are we going to find one of them?" Chat Noir asked, puzzled.

Ladybug beamed at him.

* * *

"Ho, ho, ho!" said Chat Noir, grinning down at the line of kids. "Who wants to sit on Santa Claws's lap?"

The children went wild, cheering and laughing. He wasn't sure if they actually believed he was Père Noel or if they knew it was him in costume and liked the joke. Or, rather, the hasty putting on of a costume over another. Just in case Ladybug needed his help right away, he'd kept himself transformed. On top of his skin-tight costume, he'd put on the traditional red-and-white hooded cloak of Père Noel. With the spare fake beard the person who'd been akumatised had kept in the sleigh, Chat Noir made a rather dashing Père Noel, if he said so himself.

A little boy stepped up to the sleigh when the cheers died down and an elf lifted him up into the sleigh. Chat Noir settled him on his lap and grinned down at him. "Well, then, what's your name?"

"Shouldn't you know?" the boy said in a shrill voice.

Chat Noir paused. That was true. Surely Père Noel should remember who was who? An idea struck him and he chortled with the obligatory 'ho, ho, ho'. "Well, young man, you look so much like your father when you were his age that I'm afraid Santa Claws has gotten you mixed up! So, what's your name?"

With a suspicious look at Chat Noir, the little boy said, "Jean-Luc."

"Ah, Jean-Luc. Of course! Now, what would make your Christmas purrfect?" Chat Noir asked, just managing to keep himself from chuckling.

"I want a life-size Meg-omme! The big robot from Incroy!" Jean-Luc declared.

Blinking, Chat Noir chanced a glance at the boy's mother. The woman was grimacing and shaking her head. "Uh," said Chat Noir. "Isn't that the robot that's 'bigger than skyscrapers?"

"Yup!" said Jean-Luc, happily.

Gesturing at the sleigh, Chat Noir said, "It's not going to fit on my sleigh, Jean-Luc."

"You can use your magic to get it to me," Jean-Luc suggested.

Unable to think of what to say to dissuade him, Chat Noir shrugged. "I'll see what I can do. But don't be too disappointed if I can only get you a small version."

Jean-Luc pouted and seemed about to argue when he glanced at the sky. He flinched and turned back to Chat Noir, looking quite frightened. "If I make a fuss, will Père Fouettard come to visit me?"

"He might do," said Chat Noir. "If you misbehave. So be a good boy, okay?"

"Won't Ladybug save me?"

"Of course she will!" Chat Noir cried. "She'll just be really busy if a lot of children are being bad, okay?"

"Okay," said Jean-Luc and hopped down from his lap. An elf helped him down on one side while another held up a little girl from the side facing the queue. Chat Noir helped her into his lap and smiled down at her, pleased to see that she was wearing a dress with cat's face stylised on the front.

"Hello, there. What's your name?"

"Orlena," she whispered, blushing. She was obviously shy and Chat Noir couldn't help but smile.

"Then, Orlena, what does my little kitten want for Christmas?"

"A new book."

Chat Noir tilted his head. "Oh? What sort of book?"

"Any sort," the girl replied.

"So you like to read?"

"Yes. But none of my friends do..." she added, sadly.

"Hey, hey," said Chat Noir, jostling Orlena a little in an effort to get her to smile. "Your friends will understand that that's just who you are. You'll learn a lot and then I bet they'll be impressed." Chat Noir glanced around conspiratorially and leaned forward to whisper to her. "Besides," he said, "I read all the time."

"Really?" asked Orlena, eyes wide.

"Really."

Orlena beamed. "Wow," she breathed. "I'm going to tell all my friends that Père Noel reads when he's not delivering presents!"

"You do that, kitten," Chat Noir said, helping her down.

He was just about to pick up the next child when a shout stopped him. Turning, he saw Ladybug swinging in from where she'd left. "Chat!" she cried.

Glancing at the children, Chat Noir quickly chuckled. "Ho, ho, ho! Ladybug is looking for her friend, kids – have you seen him?"

"Oh," said Ladybug as she landed on the sleigh. She wobbled a little and nearly fell onto Chat Noir's lap. He dutifully held his hands out to catch her. Ladybug caught herself instead and looked up at him. "Père Noel, I need your help!"

"Gladly, dear Ladybug." Chat Noir turned to the children. "If you see Chat Noir, tell him he's doing a good job. He's a _cat_ -ch." He winked at them but the children seemed more confused than amused. Shrugging, Chat Noir turned to Ladybug.

"Grab hold," she murmured and Chat Noir gladly did so, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Once he was secured, Ladybug shot off, using her yo-yo to swing away, Chat Noir's hood falling back to reveal his ears. "We need to stop Père Fouettard!" she called to him over the wind in their ears. "The Eiffel Tower is lit up like a Christmas tree and the akuma has taken children up there! I tried to stop him already but I needed your cataclysm. And I've had an idea."

"What's that?" asked Chat Noir, taking a risk to let go with one hand in order to remove the false beard.

"You need to talk to him."

"Huh?"

* * *

Still dressed as Père Noel, false beard back in place, Chat Noir was let go on the top of the Eiffel Tower where Père Fouettard was cracking his whip above the heads of crying children who had apparently climbed out of his abandoned sack. Behind him, for added festive cheer, someone had put an actual Christmas tree, the French colours prominent on it, decorated with baubles and sprayed on snow. Chat Noir strode forward, frowning at the akuma. "Père Fouettard!" he called. Père Fouettard turned to face him and Chat Noir was relieved to see Ladybug drop down behind Père Fouettard, creeping towards the tree.

"What do you want?" the akuma snarled.

"You should know what I want, Père Fouettard," Chat Noir declared. "Don't you know who I am?"

Père Fouettard squinted at him. Slowly, he said, "Père Noel?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Why are you stopping me from doing the duty you made me do? These children have been misbehaving! They're greedy and selfish and mistreat their parents – shouting and screaming when they can't get what they want-!"

"You're not the one who decides who's on the Naughty List," Chat Noir pointed out. "You can't just drag off innocent children!"

"I tell you, Père Noel, these children are not innocent!" The martinet whip cracked again, coming dangerously close to a little girl with blonde curls. She emitted a squealing scream as she flinched and all the children went still.

"Let them go, Père Fouettard."

"They-"

A tinkling sound interrupted them and Père Fouettard whipped around to find Ladybug setting up her trap. She was holding a long string of golden tinsel which had been wound around the tree. Since the tree was bolted to the Eiffel Tower, it wouldn't be able to go anywhere and Père Fouettard, when tied up with the tinsel, wouldn't be able to fly off. Seeing this, Père Fouettard roared and swung his whip, almost hitting Ladybug on the head. She managed to leap into the air, somersaulting over him to land beside Chat Noir.

"Now what?" he asked, aware that their plan had been ruined.

"We need to get him close to that tree!" she replied as she dodged the whip again.

Chat Noir frowned. He wanted to help his Lovebug but the Père Noel get-up was hindering him from reaching his staff. What could he do? It took him a few moments of watching the fight – Ladybug dodging and letting fly with her yo-yo, the akuma sending his extending whip through the air – before he realised something. Père Fouettard was ignoring him.

He rushed forward, darting closer to where the two fought. Then he leapt between Père Fouettard and Ladybug. "Stop," he commanded.

"It's a misbehaving child!" yelled Père Fouettard. He flicked his wrist and, instead of hitting Chat Noir as he had expected, the whip curved through the air and smacked at Ladybug as she swung away from him. She gave a yell and fell to the ground.

"Ladybug!" cried Chat Noir and rushed to her side. He helped her up into a sitting position. Ladybug was breathing heavily and looked a little wild-eyed. "What should we do?" he asked her, urgently. "Do you want me to whack him over the head with my staff?"

"'Whack him'... Chat! You're a genius!" Ladybug cried.

"Eh?" Chat Noir said in confusion. He quickly recovered, realising he'd just been given the perfect opening. "I mean, I know I'm paws-itively claw-some." Chat Noir grinned at Ladybug and hoped she could see it behind his fake beard.

Groaning, Ladybug pushed them apart, dodging another strike from the whip. "Chat, use your cataclysm on the tree!"

Looking over, Chat Noir took the tree in. It looked heavy, made from metal and decorated to look as though it was a real one. If he used his cataclysm... He saw where Père Fouettard was standing and knew what Ladybug wanted him to do. With one big leap, he landed next to the tree – and his hood fell down.

Père Fouettard turned to him. "What...? You're not Père Noel!" the akuma cried. "Who are you?"

Chat Noir thought about what to say. Smiling, he paused to tug off the false beard and throw it away. "Père Noel is the bringer of presents; you are the bringer of punishment. _I_ am Père Noir, the bringer of catastrophe!" He turned to the tree. "Cataclysm!" he shouted and touched the thick 'trunk' near the base. With the metal quickly disintegrating, Chat Noir leapt back towards Ladybug. She passed him by as the tree fell forwards.

Slow to react, the akuma was struck by the tree as he tried to get away. Ladybug was too fast for him as she deftly wrapped the trailing tinsel around him until his arms were bound. The akuma kicked its legs as it tried to fly and got nowhere, stuck to the fallen, metal tree. "No!" Père Fouettard shouted. "Stop!" After struggling for a few moments, the man fell still, slumping in defeat.

"Well done, Ladybug!" Chat Noir praised as he stepped forward.

Ladybug smiled at him. "Just one more thing to do," she said as a dark butterfly emerged from the man. She swung her yo-yo around and Chat Noir moved out of her way, content to watch with his hands behind his head as she caught the akuma. As soon as she'd de-evilised it and flung her yo-yo in the air, Père Fouettard became a man dressed as Père Noel, the sack with the children in it nowhere to be seen. Presumably, they were back with their parents.

“Where… where am I?” he asked. Ladybug kindly went to his side to explain and help him up.

Once everything was sorted out, and after they’d escorted the man down to ground level, Chat Noir turned to Ladybug. "Did I make a good Père Noel?" he asked, cheeky grin in place.

"I suppose you did," Ladybug conceded. "I'm not sure if you make a better Père Noel or a better cat."

Chat Noir pouted. "Paw-lease," he said. "I'm a meow-ificent cat."

Shaking her head, Ladybug only smiled at his puns. "Well, Père Noir, we should go. We'll de-transform soon."

"Aw," Chat Noir said, making sure his pout was more pronounced. "But I wanted to get my Christmas wish today."

"Oh? What's that?"

"You," said Chat Noir, sweetly.

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Ha ha,” she said. I'll see you next time, Chat. Happy Christmas." She paused. "Or is it happy 'Cat-mas'?"

Chat Noir chuckled. "No, still Christmas. But, before you go, let me give you a Christmas present, straight from a certain Père Noel!"

Glancing over him, Ladybug frowned. "What present? You don't have anything with you," she pointed out.

"This," said Chat Noir and, before she could move or react, gave her a peck on her cheek. He was quick to retreat, of course, uncertain of her reaction. "My present to you," he said once he was at a safe distance and bent into a sweeping bow. Chat Noir was about to say something else when he heard a beeping noise and, wincing, glanced at his ring. "Time to go, I suppose. Well, _meow_ darling Lovebug, I shall have to go have a catnap. Happy Christmas, Ladybug!" And, extending his staff, he shot off, wondering if anyone had missed him from school yet.

**Author's Note:**

> [Here's the site I used when finding out about Père Fouettard](https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/le-pere-fouettard-the-french-christmas-cannibal-who-serves-santa-claus/).


End file.
